UK Imas: Oven Recs

amother

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 11:54 am

Hi, everyone-

Thanks in advance for your help.
Ineed to buy ovens for my new house.

Anyone in love with their ovens?

Looking specifically for ovens available in the UK. I don't want to go extravagantly expensive unless there is something incredible and necessary about the pricier option. I'm thinking along the lines of neff/bosch as opposed to miele.

I'd like something that self-cleans and has either shabbat mode or a timer setting. (I think I prefer a timer to shabbat mode, but would be curious to know if anyone þhas the opposite preference and why.)

Also if anyone has any other appliance recommendations or warnings. I need ovens, dishwashers, washer dryers. I've already chosen a fridge freezer.

Many thanks in advance. I've done some research online, but general reviews are not as valuable as ima reviews because most people do not test products as rigorously as the frum lifestyle does.

Disclaimer:
Posting anonymously because I have said quite a few personal things under my screen name, and I don't want anyone to know that I live in the UK because if any of my family are on here, they will easily identify me.

amother

Periwinkle

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 12:53 pm

Apparently self cleaning ovens aren't safe or something and aren't being sold in the UK anymore (at least that's what someone told me).
I have a AEG oven which I'm very happy with. Neff are also good. I don't know about timers/shabbos settings-didn't know you could get that outside Israel. I think most modern ovens would be problematic for shabbos-like ours has a light that comes on when you open the door, even when it's not on.
Would recommend a separate washing machine and dryer unless you're really tight for space. We had a washer dryer and it was pretty much useless at drying. We have a samsung washing machine that we're really happy with.
I don't know where you are living but there are outlet shops where you can buy appliances for much cheaper-often they have slight dents or scratches which don't affect performance but obviously won't be sold at full price.
Hatzlocha.

amother

Eggshell

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 1:46 pm

Yes was going to recommend Fed Tech as above.

Oven brand thats not top of the range but mid range and amazing for frum households: Neff all the way

If you have a bit more money to spend then: Siemens

Self clean Pyrolytic is what you are looking for.

Dishwashers and Washing machine: I would recommend Bosch

Dryers you don't need an amazing brand

Def separate washer dryer as recommended above if you can.

Miele as you say is super best for all above but Neff and Bosch are great brands and long lasting too.

Would also recommend to buy from John Lewis - you can go in store to see before you buy. Or there's a Jewish guy that sells white goods and can advise his number is 02084554000 his name is Michael I think his shop is called Warrantydiscounting

Be aware there's recently been long delivery times on white goods into UK

amother

Apple

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 2:51 pm

Smeg has a pyrolytic oven with shabbos mode. Supposedly they are same level as bosch/neff but I haven't used one personally.
Neff are probably the best ovens, their single ovens are very popular among frum families.

Yes there are big shortages of appliances, if you need in a hurry you may have to settle with what you can find. Otherwise orders are generally on backorder for 2-3 months.

Bosch dishwashers are known to be best.

Ao appliances is also a good website for appliances. I've heard that ao also sells discounted appliance on ebay.

s c

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 3:58 pm

I also recommend bosch dishwashers. They last for years with heavy duty use. I am very happy with my Samsung washing machine. John lewis are usually competitively priced and offer a 2 year guarantee on many of their electric goods instead of the usual one year.

Amarante

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 6:47 pm

I am not in the UK but I remodeled recently and purchased a Bosch wall oven. It is their side opening model and I absolutely love it because I can stand directly in front of the oven when putting things in and taking them out instead of to the side. Much better especially with heavy item.

Since Bosch is a European company I would assume that this model is available in the UK but I have no idea of what pricing is since in the US Bosch is considered moderately upscale but not cheap.

You can't go wrong with a Bosch dishwasher. I got my first Bosch DW in 2005 and it was still working when I replaced it with a new model Bosch. I gave it to one of the workers since I was remodeling and I thought it made more sense to replace it since who knows how much longer it made last. I also wanted a paneled model to match the paneled model refrigerator I was getting.

amother

Burgundy

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 7:49 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I would highly recommend Miele washing machine. I used to have a Bosch washing machine and the two cannot be compared.
Bosch was breaking down every now and again (my family and friends who have Bosch also complain about this)
Miele is a much more stronger and faithful machine.

etky

Sat, Jan 01 2022, 11:45 pm

I'm in Israel. I have one of the Bosch wall ovens with Sabbath mode that are approved by the Federation for use on Shabbat under stipulated conditions.
I don't use it on Shabbat because I don't want to have the oven on for 25 hours when in practice I can use it only for Friday night (I don't use it for cholent). It's a shame the manufacturer didn't enable a shorter minimum use time.
Also, you can't use the timer to shut off the oven after the Friday night meal unless you are willing to unscrew the light every week because the light goes on when you open the oven door, even after the timer shuts down the oven operation.
Some ovens have a feature that lets you completely cancel the light (even when opening the door when oven is not in operation) w/o unscrewing it but mine unfortunately does not.
If I were you I would seek out a model with a timed program that is compatible with Friday night use. You will have to ask frum people about this because sales people will have no clue. They will say "it has a Sabbath mode" without understanding all the complexities of the issue.
I do use the oven on Chag and it's nice to have Sabbath mode for that.
The oven is self cleaning (pyrolitic) and I would actually never buy an oven without that feature. It's worth the extra money.
Overall, I am very happy with the oven btw. I've had it for 3 years now and so far so good.

amother

Burgundy

Sun, Jan 02 2022, 12:06 am

etky wrote:

The Sabbath mode was created specifically for Yom Tov. That's why it stays on for this length of time.

etky

Sun, Jan 02 2022, 12:33 am

amother [ Burgundy ] wrote:

The Sabbath mode was created specifically for Yom Tov. That's why it stays on for this length of time.

It was also designed for Shabbat use, for cholent, which requires a long oven time, especially in winter.
In Israel it's marketed as having a תכנית שבת.
I would actually use it for this except for the fact that where I live we often have split second power outages that would cancel the cycle. So unfortunately I can't depend on it.
It still would have been nice if the minimum were less than 25 hours, because halachically it is possible to use it to keep food warm for Friday night dinner.

amother

Alyssum

Sun, Jan 02 2022, 1:44 am

I have the Siemens with shabbos mode. It is not just for Yom tov as a lot of modern ovens, off doesn't mean 'off'. I also use it with the FedTech device, my electrician wired it in when he wired in the oven. It makes it more mehuder. Federation were very helpful.

It means I can open the oven when the light is on and take out something and leave other food it. Without the FedTech light I can open once to empty it.

I am very happy with the oven, I got the basic pyroletic one so I kasher it for Pesach. I bought separate racks and trays for Pesach.

Oven is very reliable, only gripe it has a timer for off but not for on so I can't go out and say turn on in three hours for two hours.

I got it over neff and Bosch because the buttons etc looked much more robust. I think inside they are all the same!

For dishwasher I have Bosch, it's known to be better than the more expensive meile. For washing machine I looove my meile. Way better than bosch. Was very expensive but worth it. Also have a meile dryer that is so much better than the cheap ones I used to have.

Good luck! In London there is a Jewish shop woodalls who are very experienced and very competitively priced.

Raisin

Sun, Jan 02 2022, 4:14 am

Every oven I have owned (zanussi, bosch) has had a timer that you can set and the oven and the light go off. However I was recently in an airbnb and used the timer on the oven but when I opened it the light went on.

Probably best to consult a frum appliance shop with this speciifc question.

also, my milk oven (which is pretty old) just stays on when I leave it but other ovens automatically shut off. So I can't use them on yom tov.

wtvr you do buy the extended warranty! Worth every penny. We always get our money's worth. Especially with washing machines and dishwashers.